Always Her Cowboys

by Jan Springer

  Always Her Cowboys ~ Moose Ranch

  Cowboys Online #5

  A Canadian Contemporary Ménage Romance m/f/m/m

  Jennifer Jane (JJ) Watson has spent ten Christmases in a maximum-security prison. The last thing she expects is to get early parole, along with a job on a remote Canadian cattle ranch serving Christmas holiday dinners to three of the sexiest cowboys she's ever met!

  Rafe, Brady and Dan thought they were getting male ex-cons to help out around their secluded ranch, but instead they get an attractive and very appealing female. In the snowbound wilds of Northern Ontario, female companionship is rare. It's a good thing the three men like to share...

  Christmas is coming once again to Moose Ranch and with the due date of JJ’s baby approaching fast, JJ is distracting herself from anxiety attacks by keeping herself ultra-busy preparing for the arrival of her baby and planning Moose Ranch's first annual Christmas party!

  With a wee baby on the way, there's a lot of stress for cattle ranchers Brady, Rafe and Dan. Especially due to JJ's decision on having a wilderness mid-wife deliver the baby at their secluded Canadian ranch house - with all of them present for the birth! But their concerns don't stop her cowboys from showing JJ how much they love her...out of bed and in!

  With wicked snowstorms, a grounded bush plane, a cheerful holiday party and a sweet little baby, the owners of Moose Ranch know this will be one sparkling Christmas season they won't soon forget...

  Other stories with JJ and her cowboys in the Cowboys Online series include in this order: Cowboys for Christmas, Cowboys in Her Pocket, Loving Her Cowboys, Cowboys in Her Heart and Always Her Cowboys. These books are best read in order but can stand alone. Enjoy!

  Dedication

  Once again, this one is for you, Dad.

  Although you are no longer with us, I continue to treasure the really cool wilderness trips you took us on into Northern Ontario, Canada.

  Always Her Cowboys ~ Moose Ranch

  Cowboys Online 5

  Published by Spunky Girl Publishing

  Copyright 2017 by Jan Springer

  Discover other titles by Jan Springer at http://www.janspringer.com

  Cover Art by Talina Perkins, Bookin It Designs

  Licence Notes

  This ebook is permitted for your personal use only.

  ~

  Author Note

  This is a work of fiction. Characters, places, settings and events presented in this book are purely of the author’s imagination and bear no resemblance to any actual person, living or dead or to any actual events, places and/or settings.

  Chapter One

  “Brady! Stop! I see the perfect Christmas tree!” JJ shouted from behind Brady as he gunned the snowmobile across the sun-splashed, snow-covered meadow. Without even giving him a chance to slow down, she pounded on his back with her fists in excitement.

  Brady grinned and kept driving at a quick pace. He needed to be careful though, especially with JJ being in her condition, but he also knew she enjoyed going fast and this wide-open debris-free meadow was the perfect place to give her that adrenalin fix.

  He’d seen the attractive blue spruce tree, but he just wanted to tease her a little. He’d already picked it out himself a few weeks ago in late autumn when he’d been out this way with the all-terrain vehicle checking on a herd in the next pasture. But he hadn’t mentioned the tree to her. Had wanted to surprise her.

  “Brady!” she screeched and gave his back another smack.

  “What?” he called out.

  “The perfect tree! It’s back there!”

  “I can’t hear you!”

  JJ cursed, and he laughed. She was so cute when she got mad, but he didn’t want her to get too angry. She was nine months pregnant and it was two weeks before Christmas. They’d been so busy on the ranch that they’d been putting off looking for the tree. But this morning JJ had been insistent that today was the day to get their perfect holiday tree because Moose Ranch’s first annual Christmas party that she was throwing, was only a few days away.

  Despite a swelled belly that made it awkward for her to get around in the snow, she’d been ready after lunch and eager to go. He just wished she would take it a little easier with the house chores, but she was as stubborn as ever wanting to do everything. He loved her passion for her work and he loved her.

  “Brady!” she screamed near his ear and then she laughed.

  Suddenly she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He chuckled as he realized she must have guessed that he was just kidding and that he had seen the tree. He slowed the snowmobile, turned, and then followed the tracks he’d just laid out in the snow. A minute later, he stopped right beside the tree, shut off the machine, and then he turned in his seat.

  His breath caught at how stunning JJ looked in the late afternoon sunshine. She’d already removed her black helmet and glittering white snow dust floated around her head like a halo. Her cheeks were rosy red from the cold, her brown eyes sparkled with happiness and tussles of brown curls framed her pretty face.

  “You’re teasing me,” she gasped. But before he could answer, she was already reaching behind her to where he’d strapped the snowshoes onto the back of the machine. She had hers on within a minute. Then she reached for his snowshoes and held them out to him.

  “I saw it and yes, I was playing with you,” Brady admitted as he accepted them.

  “You best save the playing for tonight,” JJ said with a wink.

  Heat whipped through him at the huskiness in her voice. He knew her meaning. Tonight, was his night with her and this time around it would be Dan and Rafe who would just have to listen to her moans as he’d done on their respective nights with her. He felt no jealousy toward his two partners, only love and sometimes friendly teasing that couldn’t be helped, as the three of them shared JJ.

  As Brady strapped on one snowshoe and then the other, he couldn’t stop thinking about his good luck in having a woman like her in his life. She was sweet, easy going and very compassionate and he was really looked forward to snuggling up with her in bed and talking about their unborn baby.

  He was relieved that with her due date being so close she’d been instructed not to fly the bush plane until after the birth of their baby. He was ultra-glad that he wouldn’t have to worry about her soaring through the clouds and maybe crashing the plane. He knew she was an excellent pilot, but he just could not get that niggling fear out of his system that he would lose her someday because of her love of flying.

  His fear for her safety had only grown since that time several weeks ago when she hadn’t come home due to a plane engine malfunction. He still shivered and woke up in a cold sweat some nights at what could have happened. Things could have been so much worse had JJ not managed to get that plane down the way she had. She’d suffered some pulled muscles in her back upon the crash landing and despite both a doctor and the midwife saying JJ and the baby were alright, he still wondered if that crash had harmed the baby in some way.

  He wasn’t so happy with her sudden decision a few weeks ago, of wanting to have the baby right here on Moose Ranch. With her anxiety and panic issues, he’d been convinced she would have preferred to be close to the hospital over in Thunder Bay. They had even made plans to stay in a hotel for a couple of weeks before her due date. But JJ had been told about a bush pilot mid-wife who was new to the area and JJ had wanted Rafe and Dan also present at the birth, which would have been impossible with them all staying in the city and no one running the ranch.

  Brady bit down on the sharp spear of fear that suddenly gripped him. God help him if anything happened to either JJ or their baby due to them being hundreds of miles from the nearest hospital.

  “Come on! Let’s get the tree cu
t!” JJ’s gleeful shout ripped him back to reality. She waddled to the trailer behind the snowmobile and grabbed the handsaw.

  She was wearing a cute powder blue colored maternity snowsuit that had shown up in the form of a large package one day via the bush mail. Blue, from North Country Air, had flown in the parcel addressed to JJ. The suit had been a present from his sister, Jenna.

  The garments came in very handy because JJ wasn’t the shopping for maternity clothes type of girl and she’d been wearing an ill-fitting older ski jacket of Rafe’s for her cross-country skiing trips through the forest or her walks down to the frozen lake to grab the plane and take it up for an early morning fly.

  But she’d been forced to stop flying at the insistence of the mid-wife who’d informed them that there was a higher risk of blood clots when a pregnant woman was in the air close to her due date.

  “Come on! What are you waiting for?” JJ called out and waved the handsaw at him, gesturing for him to follow.

  He grinned. That pregnant woman moved quite fast through the fluffy white snow. He wished he could move just as quick, but he still had some lingering difficulties with walking due the tetanus infection he’d had several months earlier. The disease had damaged the nerves in his legs and other parts of his body. But he was confident the stiffness and pain would eventually go away. The doctors had said it took time for damaged nerve endings to heal. He just needed to stay patient.

  Brady stepped onto the snow, removed his helmet, and placed it beside JJ’s on the seat. Then he followed her tracks. When he reached the towering tree, he had sudden doubts that it would fit into the ranch house. But with JJ’s beaming smile, he didn’t have the heart to break the news of his suspicion to her, so he quickly set to brushing away the snow from the trunk, accepted the saw from her and began to cut.

  “It is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen. It has such a lovely bluish tinge to it. It’s a shame to cut it down,” she whispered from beside him.

  He stopped cutting and gazed up at her. She was staring at the tree like some little kid who’d just seen something so wonderful that she couldn’t believe it. But JJ was like that. She appreciated everything because she’d lost so many years in prison.

  Suddenly the bright sunshine disappeared, and Brady surveyed the sky. Dark, ominous clouds had taken over the sun. The wind felt colder, and giant snowflakes began to gently swirl upon them.

  Shit. The weather forecast had called for a snowstorm later today. It appeared it was already here. A bit of unease draped over him. He shouldn’t have allowed JJ to talk him into this trip. They could have waited until after the storm. He should have radioed Rafe and Dan too and let them know they were heading out to get a tree. Instead, he’d just left a note on the dining room table.

  If something happened here…Brady shook his head and brushed off his uneasiness. He had to hurry and get them back home. He returned his attention to the tree and cut fast. A couple of minutes later, the tall tree cracked and began to sway.

  “Timber!” JJ called out.

  Brady scrambled out of the way, slipped his arm around JJ’s waist and they watched the tree fall into the white snow with a loud poof. Then everything went completely silent except for the faraway sound of a woodpecker cracking its beak on a tree.

  “It’s gorgeous, Brady. Absolutely, gorgeous!” JJ whispered as she tenderly touched one of the prickly-looking blue-green branch tips with her gloved hands.

  He had to admit, they did have great taste in trees.

  “Here, hold this saw and I’ll grab the tree,” he instructed.

  A few moments later, the tree was tucked safely on the trailer and Brady sighed with relief when the snowmobile roared to life. With any luck, they’d be back to the ranch house within the hour.

  Dan stared out the kitchen window at the swirling snowflakes and the increasing darkness. Worry screamed through him as he strained to see any sign of lights from an incoming snowmobile.

  “They’re still not back?” Rafe called as he stomped down the stairs. He’d taken a quick shower and he was towel drying his hair as he strolled into the kitchen. They’d returned about half an hour ago to find a note on the kitchen table stating Brady and JJ had gone Christmas tree hunting. They’d left at one this afternoon and it was now four.

  He had a bad feeling about this. JJ was always humming around in the kitchen at this time of afternoon cooking supper. And Brady should have known better to go out alone without them especially with a snowstorm coming and they had taken only one machine. If it broke down…

  Dan shook off that uncomfortable idea and inhaled a deep shuddering breath.

  “Nothing but white,” he replied, trying to act cool. But his insides were twisting with sickness and worry.

  Where the hell are you?

  “Did you try to hail them again on the satellite phone?” Rafe asked. Dan picked up the urgency lacing Rafe’s voice.

  “Still no response,” he admitted.

  “They could be in a gorge or something and not picking up the signal. Okay, I’ll load us with coffee and let’s get back out there and follow their trail,” Rafe said as he grabbed a couple of Thermos from a nearby shelf.

  “No trail to follow. Snowing like a bitch out there.”

  “Seriously?” Rafe asked.

  He stepped in beside Dan and let out a low whistle as he stared out the window.

  “Everything is freaking white. Can’t see a thing. We’d better get our asses in gear,” Rafe said in a rush as he reached for the steaming coffee pot. “I’ll put some food together too. You grab the emergency kit and pack some warm blankets and pocket warmers in a plastic bag and—”

  Dan nodded, and he was already half way across the kitchen when he realized Rafe had stopped speaking. Dan turned and noticed Rafe had returned to the window and was gazing out. He was frowning.

  Dan’s gut wrenched. Did Rafe think the storm was too serious for them to go out in? Suddenly an odd sound drifted through the quiet room. The low hum of an engine? At first, he couldn’t be sure. Didn’t want to get his hopes up. It could just be a low-flying bush plane passing over, but then the rumble grew louder and more distinct.

  Relief poured through Dan. Rafe gave a whoop of joy that would have woken the dead. Dan’s uneasiness forgotten, he raced Rafe down the hallway. He pushed open the door and they scrambled into the mudroom, grabbed their coats off the hooks and headed toward the back door where they saw the flash of lights shine through the frosted windows.

  Thank God! They were back. They were home.

  JJ was so glad to see the ranch house as Brady drove the snowmobile into the front yard that she almost burst out crying from happiness. She was cold, she was hungry and for the last little while she’d been fighting off a bad case of nerves as she wondered how in the world Brady could see where he was going in this storm.

  As she lifted her helmet, icy snowflakes blasted her face. She couldn’t see anything through all the whirling snow. It was a miracle Brady had been able to find their way back at all.

  Suddenly there were shouts from the house and she gazed up to see Rafe and Dan struggling into their coats as they stomped down the ranch house stairs.

  “Get your asses inside!” Dan’s shout alerted her that he was pissed off.

  Thankfully though, a moment later, Rafe’s protective arm curled around her waist, taking away her momentary shock at Dan’s gruff attitude. Before she could ask what was wrong with Dan, Rafe helped her off the snowmobile and placed her helmet back onto her head and Dan was sliding onto the seat that Brady had just vacated.

  “Wait! Bring the tree inside!” JJ shouted into the shrieking wind the instant she realized Dan was going to start the snowmobile and take it and the trailer with the tree to the shed.

  She heard Dan curse. Then she grinned when he shook his head and his shoulders slumped in defeat. It appeared all his anger had suddenly disintegrated. Good. Now the men could trim the tree while she prepared supper.

 
“Get inside, both of you, before you catch your death. Rafe and I will get the tree into the mudroom,” Dan yelled. She nodded and suddenly understood why he was mad. He’d been worried about them.

  Brady grabbed her chilled hand and tugged her up to the ranch house. A moment later, warm welcome air breathed against her as she and then Brady entered the safety of the mudroom.

  “Nice to be back, eh, sweetheart?” Brady asked as he removed his helmet and then helped her off with hers. Then he unzipped her jacket.

  “For a little while I thought we’d never make it,” she admitted as she tore off her gloves. The suit that his sister had sent was a godsend. It had kept her and the baby quite warm against the frosty snowstorm. But she had started to feel a bit chilled about half an hour ago when the wind had picked up.

  “Tell you the truth, I was starting to get a bit nervous myself,” Brady chuckled as he slid off his gloves.

  “But we made it home safe and sound and with the tree, that’s all that matters. Right?” JJ asked.

  Now that she was thawing out and had a chance to collect her thoughts, she understood why Dan and Rafe were upset. Was Brady just as upset with her?

  He didn’t answer as he helped her off with her coat.

  Oh dear.

  “I’m sorry I talked you into taking me out today. I should have listened to you—”

  He reached up and placed a finger on her mouth.

  “Shh, you didn’t do anything wrong. I heard the weather forecast too. I thought we had time. I’m the one who made a mistake. Not you,” he said softly.

  “But—”

  “No, don’t go there, JJ. We made it back. Everything turned out just fine. We got our tree and we know the risks living out here.”

  She nodded, and he slid his finger off her mouth.

  “You are so good to me, Brady.”

  “I’m just glad you and the baby are safe. Nothing else matters.”